Category Archives: Iconic

Here’s a car – a race car – that rips through the air. There are few cars today that produce such a sound as this Ferrari 312PB. The screams are produced by a Ferrari developed flat-12 boxer engine. Yup, a boxer engine. This car was developed specifically for FIA prototype racing, especially after losing to Porsche 917 race car in the early 1970’s. This car was unfortunate in claiming victory over the competition but it won over our ears and sensations. Let’s turn it over to Petrolicious who had the opportunity to capture this historic banshee.

What happens when you take the running time of Le Mans and add the Nurburgring? Easy! You get the greatest GT race in the world. It is that time of year again, we are gearing up for the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. Because this race takes place on the one of the tightest race tracks, fans will not see any prototype cars out on track. To makeup for that, cars entered will be true GT raced cars, from purebred GT3 cars to European GT4 cars, and finally, heavily modified sports cars (called SP class) from all makes and models to fill out the field. At the announcement of this race there were 175 cars registered for the race.

While it is challenging to get complete information for the race, since it doesn’t have the same level of appeal on the world stage it is our understanding that Porsche’s Manthey Racing team will not be here this year. They have taken on the WEC with their factory Porsche efforts. Therefore the closest team we have to a factory favorite is the Falken Porsche Race Car. Nissan is here again to show the world that their GT3 spec GT-R is worthy enough to win the hardest race. Outside of those listed the favorites continue to be Audi with their R-8, Mercedes with their SLR, BMW with their GT3 Spec Z4 race car and finally McLaren will be running their MP4-12C race car. All of these cars are fielded by well qualified teams so the battle should be exciting. Finally, there will be a few teams running the factory race car program produced by BMW with the M235i Race car. It will be interesting to see how well these cars hold up to the abuse.

Following links should help you enjoy this year’s race that will take place at the famed Nurburgring.

It’s that time of year again when we drop all that have planned over the weekend to take part in watching the world’s most respected race – 24 Hours du Le Mans. This marks the 82nd running of the world famous race, and man does it have some exciting news for this year.

What’s new for this year?

This year is the first for three top manufactures going all out to claim the top spot. This year marks the return of Porsche, running two factory LMP1 hybrid race cars set out to battle Toyota and the reigning champions, Audi. On top of that, the ACO organizers have imposed rules stating that top-tier LMP1 cars (just listed) will have to run this year’s race using roughly 30% less fuel than that of last year, which will be monitored live throughout the entire race. Let’s introduce the contenders.

Toyota’s TS040 will run a naturally aspirated V8 supplemented by a supercapacitor hybrid storage/deliver unit (combined power of 1000HP)

Porsche’s 919 will run a turbo V4 (yes, V4 motor) with an energy recovery system (ERS) hybrid system (combined power of nearly 800HP)

Garage 56 entry, which is designed for experimental cars, has been taken by Nissan’s ZEOD and will be piloted by Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. We hope this car can make it to the end.

Corvette Racing will be returning for their 15th anniversary of running at Le Mans with guest driver Jordan Taylor, who will join Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia to battle the GTE-Pro category for the top step.

Dempsey Racing is back this year, but fielding a car produced by Proton featuring an all American team of Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and Patrick Long

As for the track the Ford Chicane now features rather beefy ‘baguette’ inner curbs to dissuade corner cutting (and the subsequent massive intrusion of gravel onto the track surface).

How to enjoy the race remotely!

With all that said, set aside your Saturday and Sunday plans and fill your 24H information needs from the following links:

Autohaus Hamilton, a Porsche specialist service shop located north of Sydney, worked to put together a film aimed at sharing their passion for one of Germany’s most iconic sports car. The result of the special project is below. The film was created with the help of SoDUS Films as they followed the team and their customers around for 8 months to understand the obsession with a specific form of German engineering. How can anyone argue with a film that discusses Porsches and happens to captures some of these classics in their proper element? Can you feel the obsession?

It is that time of year again! We are one day away from kicking off the North American Racing Series – IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship which begins Saturday, January 25 at 2:10 P.M. EST

The first race is the iconic Rolex 24 Hour Endurance race. This year 67 entries will be fighting for their chance to claim victory of this historic race in each of their respective classes. The entries even include the famous Nissan Deltawing – making its comeback race with totally revised outer shell. Additionally, making their highly anticipated debut is the Porsche all-new factory team partnered with CORE autosport running the 911 RSR “EVO”. Should you want to view the full list, click here: Entry List.

If you need some help understanding what teams you are seeing on screen please download this beauty – the spotters guide. Think of it as the definitive picture book of teams and cars for this event. Those wanting live timing throughout the race you will need to set your browser to: IMSA live timing. Finally if you need EVEN more information you can find IMSA’s handy twitter cheatsheet here: twitter handles.

The full tv broadcasting schedule is as follows; the downside is there will be NO radiolemans coverage during this race. Its such a sad day on that front.

And those race fans who want something a little more personal, Magnus Racing will be broadcasting live from their pit box during the entire 24h race all for your viewing pleasure. You can view their entire webcast live here: ustream.tv/liveatdaytona or from their website: Magnus Racing

The car that leads the rest of the field to the start will be the number 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette; for the GT LeMans class (GTLM) will be the number 91 SRT Motorsports SRT Viper GTS-R. The full qualifying list is here – Results

We hope you’re looking forward to a great race; we have a feeling this will be good.

Randomly browsing the web can produce some amazing results. In this case I came across Camille De Bastiani’s art work of re-envisioning the modern F1 car, that we all know, and dressing it in those classic livers of yester-years. Below is only a taste of what he created. Please see more at his blog or on his deviant art site.

It has to be every car enthusiast’s dream to drive the world famous Nurburgring Nordschleife. In October 2013, I was fortunate enough to journey out to the world famous track and get in 3 laps with a stage 2 track prepared VW Scirocco. The car was rented from rent4ring. The process is simple, show up bright and early; thirty minutes before the track actually opens. Complete the necessary forms and agree to the insurance policy provided in the rental agreement and you are all set. Our total rental time was 4 hours to run 6 laps. Once you’re finished with the paperwork you simply follow the man/woman to your car, they show you a few features and then its all up to you to make the magic happen. The golden ticket to get out on track actually comes in the form of an electronic card that you hold up to the gate sensor. It reads the number of runs you have and if available the gate will open up to the greatest track on Earth.

Our ride:

The morning of our run was foggy and damp, which made us a little reluctant to go all out and try to slam in a hot lap. The truth is you spend more time monitoring the rear view mirror than watching whats happening in front of you. There are always people who will be faster and have been to the track many more times than you – as a result they will dive on the inside of you if you’re not careful. Therefore a more aware driver gets back safely with no accidents. Prior to going to the track I practiced with Gran Turismo 5. The difference – no in game feedback and the game does not capture how steep the hills actually are.

Now back to the 4 hour time limit. I’m sure to the newbie that sounds like ample time to get in 6 runs. Well for those that are experienced veterans know that it only takes a few short hours after opening to see how crowded this place really gets. The lines actually start to run out onto the public roads surrounding the track. Then when some awesome hot shots decide to crash out on the Ring you’ll encounter over the loudspeaker a notice that the track will be closed for 20-30 minutes while they sort out the issue. All of these things eat into your driving time. Generally after a few runs you will want to relax, think a bit about the track and have a bite to eat. Again more time spent away from the track and running down the clock. In hindsight, getting out on track while it was damp and foggy was a good idea. It allowed for some fresh tracks with limited traffic and we were able to finish right as they announced the first track closure due to an accident.